Is Now the Time to Go and Make Money in Russia?

Matt Clinch, special to CNBC.com

Monday, 29 Oct 2012 | 9:05 AM ETCNBC.com

SHARES

Perceived risks to investing in Russia have been exaggerated, the chief executive officer at the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) told CNBC on Monday, adding that investors can find interesting opportunities in the country that offer high returns.

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Investing in Russia is often perceived as anything but a safe bet, with fears over corruption and political intervention.

"Yes there is bureaucracy, yes there is corruption, but government is really focused on fighting it — and it's really for real this time," Kirill Dmitriev said.

"We really believe that Russia is one of the most undervalued opportunities in the world right now."

Created in 2011 the RDIF is a $10 billion Kremlin initiative to co-invest in Russian projects with funds from around the world. President Vladimir Putin in September moved to extend the fund with an extra $8 billion.

(Read More: Time to Consider Investing in Russia: Jim Rogers)

And it's not just oil that offers good opportunities according to Dmitriev. On October 12 Blackrock teamed up with the RDIF to invest $50 million into Russian healthcare firm MD Medical which floated on the London Stock Exchange.

"We see more and more opportunities in other sectors, for example, we have just invested in a healthcare transaction and we believe that private healthcare is going to grow dramatically," he said, adding that the Russian middle class has tripled in the last five years and healthcare has the ability to grow tenfold.

Russia: An Undervalued Growth Opportunity?

Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of Russian Direct Investment, tells CNBC that he believes Russia is one of the most undervalued opportunities in the world right now and wants to work with UK businesses investing in Russia.

Russia's First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov traveled to London on Monday in the hope of further extending the trade between the two countries. Russia has become the U.K.'s fastest-growing export market (exports of goods to the country were up 39 percent in 2011) and is the U.K.'s largest export market outside of Western Europe, North America and China.

(Read More: US Manufacturers Turn to Russia, With Love)

"Russia has huge opportunities in sectors where the U.K. has very good expertise. Including machinery production, logistics and agriculture," Dmitriev said.

"It's really an opportunity for U.K. investors to transform their knowledge to Russia and make money there."